Exeter City v Albion match preview

ALBION will be looking to progress through to the FA Cup Fourth Round when they travel to face Exeter City at St James Park on Saturday (3pm ko).

The opposition

SkyBet League Two side Exeter currently occupy the final play-off place (7th) in their division after a decent first half of the season that has seen them win 13, draw three and lose nine of their 25 games.

They beat eighth-tier Heybridge Swifts 3-1 in the first round of the competition and, despite drawing the initial second round game with Forest Green Rovers 2-2, beat the fellow League Two side 2-1 after extra time in the replay to set up this tie.

The Grecians are managed by long-serving boss Paul Tisdale, who has been with them for just under 12 years having taken charge in June 2006.

Last time out

The most recent competitive fixture between the two sides was back in January 1993 when the Baggies won 3-2 at Exeter in a Football League Division Two clash. The Club went on to seal promotion to the second tier via the play offs later that season.

Albion did face the Devon side in a friendly back in 2002, when they also won 3-2.

Darren Moore playing in the 2002 friendly at St James Park.

Stats

Albion

This will be the first time that the two teams have faced each other in an FA Cup tie.

From the previous five competitive fixtures between the sides, Albion have scored a total of 13 goals.

The Baggies' most recent game against a League Two side was in August when they beat Accrington Stanley 3-1 in the Carabao Cup.

Exeter

It’s just the second time in a decade that Exeter have managed to make it into the third round of the FA Cup.

The Grecians drew 2-2 with Liverpool the last time they hosted a Premier League team in this competition back in January 2016, though did lose the replay 3-0.

Tisdale’s side haven’t kept a clean sheet in any competition since the end of November - a run stretching back eight matches.

Albion have played Exeter four times in the league and once in the EFL Cup, winning on three occasions, drawing once and losing the other.

Man in the middle

Lee Mason will be the referee for Saturday’s game, and he’ll be assisted by Derek Eaton and Mark Russell - with Brett Huxtable as the fourth official.

Ticket news

Tickets for the trip to Devon are SOLD OUT.

Follow the game

Comprehensive coverage of the clash with Exeter is available in our Match Centre, where you can listen to free live commentary on WBA Radio or follow our live text feed.

WBA Radio is the only service that allows Baggies fans around the world - from Smethwick to the Sahara - access to uninterrupted live commentaries from every one of our competitive games. Join Gez Mulholland and Dave Bowler for Baggies-biased live commentary on Saturday.

You’ll also be able to find score updates on the club's social media channels.